A major shift in leadership has taken place at Plaza Centres plc, with Jordi Goetstouwers assuming the role of Chair after shareholders approved a significantly reshaped board structure at the company's Annual General Meeting.
The AGM, held on 17th June, marked the culmination of a governance battle that began earlier this year when Virgata Srl, Plaza's largest shareholder with a 37.6 per cent stake, sought to reduce the size of the board and introduce a share buyback programme. While those proposals initially faced resistance from the incumbent board, shareholders ultimately backed changes that have now altered the company's leadership landscape.
Under amendments approved at an Extraordinary General Meeting in May, Plaza's board can now consist of either five or seven directors. As only two directors were appointed by qualifying shareholders under the company's articles of association, the board has been reduced to five members.
Mr Goetstouwers and Gregory Gatt were appointed directly by shareholders holding more than 14 per cent of the company's voting rights. They are joined by Gerald J. Zammit, Lennard Pal and Brian R. Mizzi, who were elected by shareholders during the AGM.
Following the meeting, the newly constituted board unanimously appointed Mr Goetstouwers as Chair and Mr Zammit as Deputy Chair.
The appointments represent a victory for Mr Goetstouwers, who has openly advocated for a more active approach to shareholder value creation since building up his stake in Plaza Centres in an interview on MaltaCEOs.mt. He argued that a smaller board would be more agile, reduce costs and improve accountability.
“With a streamlined board, the company will then be in a position to work even harder on making Plaza the premier office, retail and F&B destination in the heart of Sliema,” he said.
The board has also established a new committee structure. Mr Gregory Gatt will chair the Audit Committee, joined by Mr Pal and Mr Mizzi. Mr Goetstouwers will lead both the Executive Committee, alongside CEO Steve Abela and Mr Zammit, and a newly formed Investment Committee comprising himself, Mr Zammit and Mr Pal.
The AGM also approved the company's annual report and a net dividend of €0.0137 per share, equivalent to a total distribution of €350,000.
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